David Chernushenko


David Chernushenko is a politician, professional speaker, sustainability consultant, and documentary filmmaker in Ontario, Canada. He was elected to the Ottawa City Council in the 2010 municipal election and re-elected for a second term in 2014. He is the former senior deputy to the leader of the Green Party of Canada, and a former leadership contestant for that party.

Early life and career

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Chernushenko is a graduate of Queen's University and alumnus of Cambridge University, Chernushenko has worked for the Canadian International Development Agency, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the United Nations Environment Programme. He has served on committees and boards of local housing and environment groups, schools and health advisory bodies.
Chernushenko is a "green building" professional accredited by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. As owner of the consulting firm Green & Gold Inc. since 1998, he has advised public, private, and non-profit organizations on adopting more sustainable and socially responsible practices.
From 1998 to 2004, Chernushenko served on the International Olympic Committee's commission on Sport and the Environment. He has written several books on sustainable management practices, including Sustainable Sport Management and Greening Our Games: Running Sports Events & Facilities that Won't Cost the Earth, and the electronic publication Greening Campuses and their Communities. In 2001, he co-founded Clean Air Champions, a national charity that engages athletes in raising awareness about air pollution, climate change, and the benefits of physical activity in Canada. He is a director of the Sustainable Ottawa Energy Co-operative.

Federal politics

Chernushenko was the Green Party candidate for Ottawa Centre in the 2004 federal election. He finished fourth with 4,730 votes, receiving more votes than any other Green candidate in Ottawa. He ran again in Ottawa Centre in the 2006 federal election and again came fourth, losing to Paul Dewar from the New Democratic Party. Chernushenko received 6,766 votes, the highest vote count of any Green Party candidate in the 2006 election. He passed the 10% threshold, thus becoming eligible for partial government reimbursement of campaign expenditures. Chernushenko was endorsed by the Ottawa Citizen newspaper in the 2004 and 2006 elections. He also ran as the Green Party candidate in Ottawa South in the 2003 Ontario general election.

2006 Green Party leadership bid

On March 30, 2006, David Chernushenko announced his bid for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada. He was seen as a party insider, close to the positions of previous leader Jim Harris, in contrast to Elizabeth May, who was seen as more of a traditional activist. Chernushenko received 33.38% of the votes in the election, losing to May. Since that time, Chernushenko has been critical of May's leadership of the party, and has publicly spoken out about her mixed messages about strategic voting in the 2008 federal election, an issue that some party insiders blamed for the Greens' poorer-than-expected results in that election.

National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy

On November 10, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Chernushenko to Canada's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a non-partisan panel that advises the federal government on environmental policy, and works to promote the integrated pursuit of excellence in environmental, social and economic practices in Canada's public, private and civil society sectors. Chernushenko served as a member on the NRTEE from 2006 to 2009, and served as vice-chair in 2008-2009.
Chernushenko resigned as deputy leader of the Green Party in July 2007 in order to devote more time to his international consulting business and the NRTEE, and to make documentary films. Since then, he has launched the Living Lightly multimedia project and produced three documentaries, titled Be the Change, and .

Ottawa City Council

Chernushenko ran as City Councillor for Capital Ward in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election. He won with 41.34% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2014. In the 2018 municipal election, Chernushenko was defeated by Shawn Menard.

Works

Electoral record

2014 Ottawa municipal election, Capital Ward

2010 Ottawa municipal election, Capital Ward

2006 Canada federal election, Ottawa Centre

2004 Canada federal election, Ottawa Centre

2003 Ontario provincial election, Ottawa South

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